The Digital Photo Guy

UPDATED – 10/13

Yesterday, I wrote a Quick Tip about changing your camera’s default setting from Auto Focus/AutoExposure with the shutter release button to the * (asterisk) button on the back of Canon cameras. On Nikons and Pentax, it’s called the AE-L/AF-L Button (Auto Exposure Lock/Auto Focus Lock). Different cameras have different combinations of AE/AF Lock so you’ll have to check your manual and see how you specific camera works. If you’re still confused, leave a question in the Comments (below).

Here’s a real life example of how to use separate AE/AF Lock assignments. In the first photo, I pointed the camera at the medium blue sky behind me (second photo) and half-pressed the shutter release. This set the Auto Exposure to f/16, 1/80 second, ISO 200. Next, holding the shutter release at half-press to “lock” the exposure, I recomposed the frame and pressed the * (asterisk) button on the back of my Canon 10D which has been programmed to activate AF. When I received AF confirmation, I released the shutter. The second photo shows the medium blue sky behind me which I knew would give me the correct exposure.

Rabbitbrush

King of the Mountain

In the first photo, I focused about 20 feet into the patch of rabbitbrush at f/16, 35mm. This gave me a near focus distance of about 8 feet which wasn’t close enough for the closest flowers which were only about 3 feet away. That’s why they’re out of focus but everything else from about 8 feet to infinity is acceptably focused. To get everything in focus from 3 feet to infinity, I should have used f/32 but that particular lens only goes to f/22 at 35mm. Bottom line, I had to make some compromises.

Here’s a photo from earlier in the day as I was leaving Beatty, NV. It felt as if the old grader was looking at a road it had graded “back in the day”. Here, I didn’t have a medium blue sky so I  metered off the brown hills, took a photo, checked my histogram and adjusted EC (exposure compensation) as needed.

Glory Days

Finally, last one. Just a few minutes earlier, a small herd of about 10 cows were grazing on the green grass. When I walked up to the barbed wire fence, they all came over to check me out. The others eventually went off to do their cow thing but this one was fascinated by me for some reason. It stared at me until I finally took this picture and left. It would have been more picturesque if the cows had stayed on the green grass and done their cow thing. That way, I could have framed the photo to cut out the brown area in front.

PSW ended on Saturday, 10/3 but I’m just now getting around to writing the wrap-up because I’ve been driving through some of the most photographically target rich areas of the country, northern Nevada, Death Valley and the Eastern Sierra Mountains. That and the fact that high-speed Internet access is nearly impossible in those areas has been all the excuse I’ve needed to put off writing my Monday Morning Tip (MMT) until Monday evening. I kept telling myself that I’m waiting until I get a round tuit.

Saturday was a short day but I hope we scored some more goodies as door prizes for the webinar. None of these deals are firm so there aren’t yet any details.

So far, we have an RS-4 camera strap from Black Rapid. This is a truly innovative product and I’ll be buying one as soon as they make a minor enhancement for me.

You can also win your choice of one of 8 Topaz Labs modules for Mac or PC. I’m not normally impressed with software but I can honestly say the Topaz Labs plug-ins blew my mind. There’s a dent on the convention hall floor where my jaw hit the ground.

Another great prize is The 1-2-3 of Digital Imaging v5, a 3500+ page digital book that teaches you both Photoshop Elements and Photoshop. This is a very comprehensive digital book that shows you, step-by-step, how to get the most out of your photos.

The biggest, baddest prize is still the 2009 Photoshop World Workbook, all 800 pages of PS and photography tips and tricks covered in virtually every class offered at PSW this past week.

As for classes, I had two winners, both taught by Ben Willmore. The first, The Newest on HDR, was a bit basic for me but it had its moments. Ben’s explanation of Tone Mapping made the most sense to me of all the tone mapping explanations I’d heard previously. The second, Mastering Curves, was one of those “Ah-ha” moments when Ben started talking about curves in PS CS4. I had been using curves just like I always used curves and never realized some of the powerful new tricks Adobe had built into CS4.

Quick Tips

This one is a bit more advanced but you should definitely consider it as your skills improve. Most dSLRs set both focus and exposure as the shutter release is half-pressed. This is OK for most situations but what if you want to set AF and AE separately? For example, while driving over the mountains from Nevada to California today, I stopped to photograph some bristlecone pines, some of the oldest living things on the planet.

In order to maximize depth of field (DoF), I used a small aperture (large f-number) of around f/16 to f/32 and focused about 25 feet out so my far distance would go to infinity. At that distance, there was a large patch of yellow flowers that would have thrown off my exposure. But, by having AF on a separate button (the asterisk button on the back of Canons), I was able to simply point the camera at the medium blue sky and half-press the shutter release to set AE. With AE locked in place, I now recomposed the frame and pressed the asterisk button on the back with my thumb, triggering AF. In 2 quick motions, I set exposure and focus on two separate areas.

Dumb Question of the Day

Maybe the farmers out there can answer this question. Why are cows so curious? I’ve often stopped by a field to photograph grazing cows. This is usually because there’s a beautiful mountain or forest or lake or some other point of interest in the background. Invariably, within a few minutes, the cows will notice me and amble over to check me out. It’s a bit disconcerting to a city boy when a big cow stares at me through a flimsy barbed wire fence. I worry that he/she may know I had a steak the night before and wants revenge. This has happened on many occasions. Why are cows so darn curious?

Photos Tomorrow

I’ll have some of my photos from today’s drive to Bishop, CA uploaded tomorrow to, hopefully, better explain why having AF on a separate button is a good idea.

Score, Again!

I snagged several extra Photoshop World workbooks for drawings to be held during the Nov 14 webinar with Rob Sheppard. These workbooks contain class materials from virtually every class offered during PSW this week. That’s over 800 pages of material covering everything from Fixing Common Image Problems by Dave Cross to Graphic Secrets: Totally Text by Lesa Snider to The Perfect Panoramic by Jim DiVitale.

For me, yesterday was more about recharging the batteries and gaining new inspiration than pushing sliders, tweaking colors and adjusting angles. For inspiration, Jay Maisel is at the top of my list. He’s an oddball (synonym for New York photographer) but his ability to see while the rest of us simply look is amazing. His photos of what, at first glance, appear to be everyday, mundane objects is nothing short of brilliant. If B&H had a “Jay Maisel Eye” in their catalog, the owners would be multi-billionaires. Even his photos of kids, which rarely do anything for me, inspire and amaze me. He’s not a splashy, entertaining presenter but he doesn’t need to be, his photos speak for themselves.

Fay Sirkis presented The Eyes Are the Windows to the Soul. The beginning was slow and I was concerned when she said she was going to show us a technique that she applied to every photo. It turns out she’s a 1 trick pony but it’s a huge pony. I was impressed at the breadth and depth of information she was able to pack into a single tip. Her one technique had more product extensions than a MacDonald’s hamburger!

Jack Reznicki was, as usual, full of great tips, tricks and hints but, also as usual, he’s a photog, not an instructor. He was all over the place and it would have been difficult for less experienced photographers to follow. I had to laugh at the people using camera phones to try to capture his exact set-up instead of understanding the concepts.

Joe McNally was my favorite. He most reminded me of my own style: immediately useful tips and info presented in a rapidfire, humorous manner that always kept you on the edge of your seat. I really liked that Joe used V as his model instead of the typical, svelte, 20-something blonde. V was about 350 lbs of muscle and looked like a bouncer at a Las Vegas bar. He was amazingly agile and could leap into the air on cue for McNally.

There was only one disappointment during the day. It was obvious the instructor really didn’t know how to express themselves and convey their ideas. The one thing that surprises me is the lack of preparation most photographers put into their presentations. They don’t seem to understand that presenting an instructional lecture is a completely different animal. I’m also amazed at the frequency of equipment failures.

Today is slow until noon so I’ll be scrounging in the Expo area again. I’m really looking forward to 2 sessions with Ben Willmore, The Newest in HDR and Mastering Curves. PSW wraps up at 5PM this afternoon but a lot of it is, “Rah-rah, sign up for next year!”

One final point of philosophy. After one attends a number of these conferences, it becomes obvious that the tools change and the techniques get better but the desired results are always the same. We’re always looking for ways to get the most out of our art. Bottom line, it’s useful to come to these conference once in a while but don’t drink the Kool-Aid. It’s not Scott Kelby’s art, it’s YOUR art. If you find a way that works for you, don’t let the “next big thing” seduce you into trying something just for the sake of trying something new. This falls under my favorite Dr. Mits Tomita saying, “Keep an open mind but not so open that your brains fall out.”

SCORE!

Yesterday, I scored BIG TIME for my readers and webinar students. I went to many of the booths in the Expo and shook them down for prizes for Rob Sheppard’s webinar on Nov 14. At Nik Software, I got a promise of 15% off coupons. I still have to make arrangements with Nik after PSW so it’s not yet active. Then, I got a SUPER deal from the guys who market Topaz Labs software. They will extend the show price of $129 for the entire Topaz Suite ($339 value) to all my students. I also got a coupon good for a free copy (not trial) of any of their programs to give away during the webinar. It takes a lot to impress me with software but I can honestly say the Topaz stuff blew my socks off. It did things that my engineering, technical mind said couldn’t be done. I’ll have a complte writeup on some of their modules over the next few weeks.

Finally, under the heading of “It Don’t Get No Gooder’n This”, I scored a FREE (as in gratis, zero, zip, nada, nothing, no cost) Black Rapid camera strap. You, in the back, STOP yawning! You think camera straps are boring? Well, citizen, take a look at their site. Photos can’t do justice to how easy it is to carry AND deploy your camera using a Black Rapid system. I will give a FREE Black Rapid RS-4 to one lucky winner at Rob’s webinar.

The prize list keeps getting longer and the $49.95 Early Bird Special days keep getting shorter. Remember, the Early Bird Special pricing for Rob’s webinar ends sometime tomorrow, Sunday or Monday depending on when I have time to update the website.

Classes on tap for today include Location Lighting with Joe McNally, The Eyes are the Windows to the Soul with Fay Sirkis, ABCs of Digital Portraiture with Helene Glassman, Seeing the Light with Jack Reznicki, Light, Gesture and Color with Jay Maisel, One light for Real People with Jack Reznicki. Talk about an All-Star line-up. There are other classes in the Expo area but I’ll be busy shaking down more vendors. I’ll also be snagging PSW Workbooks (800 pages of Photoshop tips) and anything else that isn’t nailed down.

Photoshop World 2009, Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, NV – Thursday, Oct 1, 2009

I’m posting this from my RV (named Arbey) in the south parking lot of Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas waiting for the first classes to start at 10:45AM. John Loiacono, SVP/GM, Adobe Creative Solutions Business Unit gave a keynote starting at 9AM but I was still drinking coffee. Besides, I’ve heard approximately 2 bazillion keynotes in my life and they all sound exactly the same – “Shish, boom, bam! Rah, rah, ree, kick’em in the knee! Rah, rah, rass, kick’em in the other knee!”

The classes I’ve selected today are Fixing Common Image Problems with Dave Cross, Mastering the New Adjustments and Masks Panel with Ben Willmore, Retouching Faces Step-by-Step and Digital Photographer’s Notebook with Kevin Ames, Lighting, Lenses, & Composition with David Ziser and Creative Lighting for the Digital Photographer with John Williamston. As you can see, these are some of the top pros in the field today so I’m anxious to get started.

Photoshop Elements webinar – What’s Included

Rob sent me an e-mail that gives a hint of what’s included in the webinar on Nov 14. First and foremost, many new PS (Photoshop) and PSE (Photoshop Elements) users don’t realize that PS was never intended to be a photography tool. PS was, and still is, designed for graphic artists. PSE was completely made over with PSE3 to be a photographer’s tool. Even the dark interface that some users complain about is meant to complement photos. PSE, combined with a few popular plug-ins (add-ons, like a 3rd party stereo system for your car) can do as much as PS but at a much lower cost and learning curve.

Rob has more points that I’ll elaborate over the next few days. In the meantime, because I don’t have time to change the pricing, the Early Bird Special price of $49.95 will be extended until this weekend. After that, the price goes to $59.95. Also, Early Birds get a choice of 3 different Early Bird gifts. If all that’s not enough to entice you, I’ll snag an extra copy of the Photoshop World Workbook as a drawing prize for the webinar. Click here to register now. We accept MasterCard, VISA, American Express and PayPal, all secured through PayPal at no cost to you.